HDM & MM and SJM

The Full Court of the Family Court of Australia heard an appeal concerning parenting orders made in the Federal Circuit Court. The dispute involved the parents, identified as HDM & MM (the applicants) and SJM (the respondent), regarding the future living arrangements and time spent with their child.

The primary legal issues before the Full Court were whether the trial judge erred in finding that it was in the child's best interests to spend equal time with each parent, and whether the trial judge failed to adequately consider the impact of the respondent's alleged contraventions of previous parenting orders. The applicants also contended that the trial judge gave insufficient weight to the child's expressed wishes and the potential impact of the respondent's behaviour on the child's welfare.

The Full Court analysed the evidence presented at trial, focusing on the principles of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), particularly the paramountcy of the child's best interests. The judges considered the trial judge's findings of fact and the reasons provided for the orders made. They found that while the trial judge had acknowledged the allegations of contravention, the weight given to these allegations in the overall assessment of the child's best interests was insufficient. The Court determined that the trial judge had not adequately addressed the potential risks to the child's welfare arising from the respondent's conduct, which impacted the assessment of whether equal time was genuinely in the child's best interests.

The Full Court allowed the appeal, set aside the parenting orders made by the Federal Circuit Court, and remitted the matter for redetermination by a different judge of the Federal Circuit Court.